One beer and a twinkle of the brain....

Yesterday as I was nursing a fine frothy lager, I was decoding a few of my past jujitsu notes. Aside from smudgy ink and coffee stains, my eyes were straining to figure out what my poor handwriting put together.

But then it hit me. Getting every detail of each technique was not so crucial as I originally thought. What really struck me as awesome and mind-blowing was the realization that I now know, not 1 or 2 ikkyus, but four different Ikkyu to a forward punch. This is amazing.

And then it hit me again. I am going to have to clarify which technique goes with which Sensei. Ah, a whole new world.

The other week Sensei Coleman tried to teach the shuto strike thru to solar plexus technique to a forward punch. It had a whole other kind of entry and parry of the attack than the way Sensei Maria teaches it. But we knew Sensei Maria's way better, so we ended up practicing that way.

But thanks to a frothy friend, I see the challenge is to sort out the unique approaches to different techniques between different senseis. Before I couldn't see much difference, but there are in fact big differences when it comes to entry - and that, I understand, is key.